Lord Bach: On 28 October, the EU introduced a ban on imports into the Community of all captive birds (wild birds), along with new restrictions on the importation of pet birds. UK import rules have been amended to reflect that. Therefore, given the safeguard measures taken, this risk remains negligible.
	Legal imports of all live poultry and their products from countries where H5N1 has been detected have been banned. Therefore the direct legal importation to the UK of live birds and products from a third country known to be affected or indirect importation to the UK of live birds and products from a third country known to be affected through another member state to the UK is highly unlikely to occur. Therefore, given the safeguard measures, taken this risk remains negligible.
	There is an increased—but still low—likelihood for the introduction of the H5N1 virus to the UK from the outbreaks in the known affected countries in eastern Europe. That is based on advice from UK experts on migration that there is no major migration of water birds from those countries to the UK. However, there is a possibility that the frequency of H5N1 virus detection in wild birds may increase in those countries. Should that be the case, experts consider that H5N1 virus may arrive in the UK at some point in the future because of the potential for limited "mixing" at some "contact" points between the existing water bird populations from this part of Europe with the populations in the EU.
	The likelihood of the H5N1 virus being introduced to the UK may escalate to high should outbreaks be detected in the northern part of European Russia. That conclusion is based on the fact that outbreaks of H5N1 virus in this area would be within the direct migratory routes between northern Russia and the UK and involve greater numbers of migratory waterfowl.

Lord Triesman: Based on the analysis of regulatory impact assessments carried out on EU and domestic legislation, we estimate that around half of all UK legislation with an impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector emanates from the EU. Analysis by the Library of the House of UK statutory instruments implemented annually under the European Communities Act, suggests that on average, since 1998, around 9 per cent. of statutory instruments originate from Brussels (Standard Note SN/IA/2888). The total volume of statutory instruments of course encompasses a wide range of instruments, including those, such as road closures, with purely local effect.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the objectives they are seeking to achieve during the United Kingdom Presidency of the European Union.

Lord Bach: Our food security policy ensures that consumers have access to a stable and adequate supply of food, and our domestic agriculture industry has an important contribution to make to the continuity of food supply by improving its ability to produce what the market requires. The reformed CAP, in breaking the link between subsidy and production, is encouraging farmers to produce what the market requires, rather than what subsidies dictate. Our farmers are well placed to produce foodstuffs that Europe's climate is suited to, but we cannot grow all the agricultural products our consumers might want to buy. The UK has long been a net importer of food, and national and international food security is best facilitated through improved trading relationships based on more open international markets and reductions in trade-distorting subsidies.
	Until the early nineties, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (now Defra) maintained a strategic food stockpile for use in emergency situations, such as wartime. The food stockpiles were dispensed in the early 90s and replaced by the food vulnerability model (FVM). The FVM is capable of providing Ministers with data on the availability of food supplies at all stages of the food chain. The FVM is a GIS-based tool that uses data collected from the agricultural census and from a survey carried out in the food industry for Defra by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD). The information collected would prove vital to the Government in their role of protecting the community from food shortages in any emergency, as it will inform our assessment of food supply chain capability and resilience. The current security climate has reinforced the need for such information.

Lord Drayson: We are helping the Iraqis restore stability and build a democratic state. A strong, functioning, legal system is central to this project.
	We take all practicable steps to ensure that any prisoners handed over to the Iraqi criminal justice system are not mistreated. We have agreed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Iraqis governing prisoner transfer. Under the terms of the MoU, we seek written guarantees for each prisoner transferred to the Iraqis ensuring that they will not be mistreated. And once transferred, court liaison teams from the Royal Military Police monitor their cases to ensure no abuse is occurring.
	However, once transferred their treatment is ultimately a matter for a sovereign Iraqi government.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they are making to the Government of Israel over the construction of the Israeli wall around the city of Bethlehem.

Lord Bach: Defra census data for June 2004 indicates that there were 5,536 registered holdings that have poultry as their predominant agricultural activity.
	Individual registers held by Defra, NFU and individual poultry organisations have been in use for some time for particular purposes and species. There is now clearly a need for a consolidated register that holds a wider range of information, including those that hold minor bird species not previously registered and smaller numbers of birds. To address this, the first GB poultry register for all commercial flocks of 50 or more birds is currently being developed by Defra, under the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) Regulations 2005.

Lord Drayson: Costs incurred in designating wrecks under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 are administrative in nature and are not specifically recorded. The information therefore could only be provided at disproportionate effort.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government are committed to tackling work-related violence. Over the past 10 years, there has been a significant drop in the number of reported incidents from 1.3 million to 655,000*. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been working hard to help employers tackle the problem. In the past five years, HSE has published free case study guidance for small businesses and lone workers; supported new national occupational standards to help employers develop effective policies on work related violence; and undertaken a programme of targeted inspections in the healthcare sector.
	HSE is working with its stakeholder group, the Partnership on Work-Related Violence to address the problem of work-related violence in the sectors most at risk. The group will continue to share knowledge and promote good practice and develop ways to make the information more accessible to those who need it.
	*Source: British Crime Survey 1995, 2004–05